Improvement in steering apparatus for torpedo-boats



j 2 She-ets- Shet 1. JN.A..BALLARD-. STENG APPARATUS PoR ToRPED-o BOATS, 8m.

No, l'o'gsz.- 'Patented Sept.' 1s, 187.0.

AFV,

fmfer'zior.

"Ji-)HN A? BALLARD, or Bonn/minera.' i

lminne inni/letti* 1N STEERING' APPAizATus lFen" Tourieooiso/rrs/,jaei i Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 107,326, dated September 13, 1870. i

To all whom it may-concern: Beit known that I, JOHN ARCHIBALD BAL- LARD, of Bombay, India, Colonel in the. Royal Engineers, have invented or discovered'certain Improved Means or Apparatus .for Controlling and Guiding, from a'distance, the Movements of Torpedo-Boats,' Rams, and other Vessels,

` which aretruly and particularly descrihedand set forth, and the manner in which the same are to be performed, in the statement following, reference being had to the annexed drawings-#that is to say:

I propose to apply electricity to the purpose,4

of maneuvering vessels, but more especially to torpedo-boats or rams, from a distance, so that the operator may be able to bring such vessels into the proximity of an enemy, but not himself loe-'injuredy by the explosion or concussion. The torpedo-boats would be movable by steam, compressed air, or similar methods.v I propose that thel person guiding the vessel should -send electric currents to it either through board the torpedo, in suchmanner that it could run out easily 'as theboat advanced. One end would'beixed near the operator. With a pliant, light cable the vessels motion would 'be but little aifected, and, so long asthere remains any cable o n the reel, thetorpedo- 'boat is free to move in'any direction. Nothing retards it but the slight friction of the cable running off the reel. In a strong tideway'the cable would forma bight, and run out more rapidly, but there would be no additional drag on the boat, except that. caused by the reel makinga few more revolutions per minute.

In less water than fifteen or twenty fathoms,v

the cable would fall to the bottom, and could be subsequently recovered. For deep water it might be made. of buoyant material, but it would then be much exposed toinjury fronr I The cable wouldfnot come over an enemy. the stern, but run'outjthrough a pipe in the bottom ofthe boat. The smallest size of tor# pedoes for. short ranges need be vno larger than a canoe. The larger torpedoes are made, the more-easily they could be guided, sc therc isI no limit to their size except convenience and expense.

The method" by which the steam-valves would be opened and shut can be easily understood by reference to Figure I. E Mjis an electro-magnetthat is, .a horseshoe-shaped piece of iron (the core) with an insulated copper wire wrapped around it. vIf anelectric current is sent through the wire, the horseshoe becomes a magnet which will attract ordinary iron. A piece of soft iron, A A, (the armature,) is placed at a short distance from the electromagnet, so that when a current isv sent round the wire thearmature is strongly attracted, and, rising, adheres to the magnet. This armature A A is attached to a lever, l, liftingrthc valve-rod r. If, now, an operator senda current through-the wire, the magnetinstantly attracts thearmature and raises the valve-rod.

When the current ceases the'valve drops.

l The vessel may beb guided by a steam stecrl Aing apparatus, one way of applying which is shown in'Fig. II. C C is a cylinder, whose piston-rod It is twice the length of the cylinder, and projects on either side. 'llo the extremities of the' rod- It are attachedI ropes,

which move the helm H. P is a steam-pipe, v .dividing into-two smaller branches, 191122. on which are valyes c1 o2. When these valves.

are down, the stcam passes to' thel cylinder,

which is kept constantlylled; but if either l valve is lifted, the steam passes out bytheexhaust-pipescl e2, and the pressure on the pise ton'is relieved; hence it willinove in the direction of the valve which has4 been lifted, bringing the helm over. Each valve has 'one or more electro-magnets to lift it, in the yway before described. The electric currents-to magnetize the electro-magnets are provided by a battery on board. Three or four Grovcs cells would usually suffice. The poles would be connected. or disconnected by a relay, worked through-the cable by the operator'.

Any ordinary system of relay would answcr. f y

OFFICE site poles face each other.

e a tomaat simple and strong.

1 give' an illustration of one kind ofy rela-y in Fig. Il.

The line of cable-wire through uphich the opcrater sends currents is connected with the' straight electro-magnets NVYWZ, whose oppo- Betwecn these poles the north pole of a permanent magnet,A Y, swings on a. vertical axis.v NVhcn there is no current passingt-hrough thewire it is unaffected, and kept stationary`4 in the center by a spring; but it moves to W withl a direct current, and toll T2 with the reverse. current. The batterytowork the relay may be ashore or on board. The loealbatt-ery Aon hoard to work the large electro-magnets is placed in any safe part of the boat. The V'zinc pole is connected by aV wire avithlY. A. wircfrom one cndof the coil of each electromagnet `passes tothe copper pole, andl a wire from'the other end to the. points a1 a?, respectively.A t i `Then Yvis deiiected by a line current, it completes the local circuit by touching a or a2, and, the cores of the large magnets being .magnetized,A the Vvalvesarc lifted. a v

If the operator wishes to put the-helm to starboard he sends a directl current along the cablefwire. v'.lhis deilects the southpole of Y toward a2, and completes the circuit roundl the electro magnet, which opens the-valve i, the` steam escapes at c2, and,.the pressure en that sidefof the piston being relieved, it draws the helm to starboard. Y

Another way in which I propose to use, the magnetic force is, by applying it to put dilferent parts of machinery into and out of gearingwith each other.- This is illustrated in Fig. III. Suppose it is desired to have the power of put-ting .the screw-propeller shaft into and out ot' gearing with la shaft const-:intl y moving, and thus to start or stop the'boat: Let B be the shaft in motion,`

and' the screw-shaft.` 011B is an ordinary clutch, F, carried; round by la pin, g, in 'a slot. On l is the projection Iwheh, when F is pushed. forward', catches the pin "71,- ou the shaft (5', and causes 'C'.to revolve.` 4.'lhc armature A, when attracted by the electromagnct, pulls back one end ofthe lever L, moving on the -fulcrum 'Dithe` other end pushes forward F, and puts the ,shafts in gearing. When the armature is released, a spring, d, pushes back the clutch, and'disconnects the shafts; or the clutch can be made selidisconnecting by sloping off the pointsof contact between it and C.

This action may, of course, bcreverscd.-

The tnoshafts may' be always in' gearing, and the vessel in motion, unless the armature is pulled back by the electrounagnet, which wonldbe simply placed on the other side of the lever, and push the clutch back.

This system may be applied to steering the boat'm various Ways. For insta-nee, the pcriphery of the steeringwheel mightbc cogged,

, laid.

and the wheel turned by an endless screw. This screw might -receive direct motion by being geared by one electro-magnet and clutch with a shaft revolving'from right to, left, and

it might receive a reverse motion by another electro-magnet and clutch "putting itin gear with a shaft revolving from left to right.

Whether we use the electro-magnet to openy a valve, or to push `a clutch backward and forward, the principle is the same. We know that the magnetic force, in itself, could .not conveniently be applied direct to pulling the helm to one side or another, for it only acts at short distances,

and with comparatively small power; but the forcerequired to lift au equilibrium-valve, orjto push forward a clutch, was nothing compared to the poiverpossessed by -thetliowf of steam which issues through` thc valve nwhen. open, i or4 to the force wrvith.

which the clutch pulls round the machinery j into which it gears.`

By thus applying the magnetic force, we ob-` tain as much power .as the 119W ofstealn or` the revolutions of an engine can give.

It is not absolutely necessary that the, sig` naling-Wires.should be insulated or,1ollcd' 'upv onboard ythe boatand uncoil from that side.

It not insulated `1t must, of 4 course, be kept above i the Water. In' most cases, however, the best arrangement seems to be. to roll up an insulated cable on board, and let it pay out in the `iva-y a siibmarineftelegraph cable is I consider it doubtful if anyrelay yet invented could be trusted to perform with ab` solute certainty more complicated Werl; than scri ed., lf it is merely desired to guide` the` torpedo `boat, s or to guide a ram, one wn'e and one relay will suce. Another 'eure and .relay could give` the additional `power of starting and stopping the boat with one 'movement, and oiiring the charge on board the torpedo byanothermovement. It would always be. safer, however, to have a separate wire for the charge. f `1 liu the case of` small boats, where `it was an object to save the Weight of extra wires,

.a relay of a more complicated nature-such as a/dial f instrument -inight be used, and

*worked through a single wireg. but a small,`

steam'launch could easily carry a three-wirc arrihtand left movement, such asl have dep vesseis in distress, when boats wit-h persons` {ratas/'with the steering device of a torpedoon board vcould not ventureto put to sea;

or itinight be used to guide'u steamer dragging an enemyschannei for stationary ltorpedoes. What I claim is 1. The employment of-electricity for :ictu-A ating the steering. mechanism of torpedof boats, mms, and other vessels, in the manner herein described and set fort 2. The combination fof au electric appa- 'boat, rain, &c. substant'aily as described.

hereof I; t e said JOHN Anem- BALD BALLARD, have hereuntov set my hand this nineteenth du'yof May, "one thousand.y

In witness w eight hundred and seventy.

Witnesses: A EDW. F. BARKER, JNO. FIDQ,.Jr.,

' 0f Bomb`ay. 

